Michael Jackson's casket was topped with a jeweled crown by his children Prince and Paris during his burial service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif.
After weeks of speculations, false reports, and delays, the “King of Pop” was finally laid to rest at the Glendale Forest Lawn Cemetery, Los Angeles on Thursday, September 3, 2009, around 10 weeks after his death. The memorial, which was only reserved to close friends and family members of the late singer, began after a two-hour delay.
Elizabeth Taylor, Macaulay Culkin, and Quincy Jones were among the 200 invited guests. On the other hand, Jackson’s relatives also delivered memorial speeches, which unfortunately, were not broadcasted by any media outlets.
Michael Jackson’s gold-plated coffin was decorated with white and yellow flowers. Michael Jackson’s daughter, Paris, honored her father by placing a bejeweled crown atop her father’s coffin.
After the memorial service, the coffin was then laid to rest in the Great Mausoleum, where Hollywood stars Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, and Clark Gable are also buried.
The King of Pop died on June 25, 2009 after suffering a cardiac arrest and going into coma. Officials have already announced that it was a drug-induced death. The memorial was originally scheduled on August 29, the King of Pop’s birthday, but was postponed after several family members objected to the idea.
Meanwhile, the Jackson family released a statement shortly after the memorial, expressing their dismay on the media coverage of Michael Jackson’s “private memorial.”
“As a family, we are all aware of how Michael’s life, and his death, touched so many around the world,” Randy said. “It is why we held a public memorial in my brother’s honor. And it is the reason we chose to release a small amount of footage leading up to yesterday’s ceremony at Forest Lawn.
“I was dismayed last night and again today at the coverage I saw on television of our ceremony for Michael. We had asked the media to respect the privacy and the sanctity of this event; to give us one moment of privacy to mourn as a family out of the public spotlight.
“Unfortunately, despite a no-fly zone around Forest Lawn, many media organizations decided to ignore our wishes. They employed helicopters that not only surreptitiously recorded our private family ceremony, but also severely disrupted it.”
“I therefore ask today that media organizations airing helicopter footage of the ceremony we held for my brother immediately pull that footage from their air and refrain from airing it in the future,” Randy concluded.
